In the physical sense, he was
never very far away, but spiritually and emotionally, they
couldn't be further apart.
Three weeks ago, when he came to her Ready Room, her intentions
were to explain to him that their relationship could go never go
beyond what had been established, but that they would always be
friends, and nothing could change that.
If ever there was a time when she wished she could go back and do
things differently, it was now. But no matter how hard she
wished, or how badly she wanted it to happen, there was nothing
she could do to change the past.
So instead, she sat on her Ready Room floor, cradling the one
connection she had to the man she once knew. It was on days like
this that she wondered if he ever thought about her.
"Ensign Kim to Captain Janeway"
Kathryn was shaken out of her reverie by the sound of the young
Ensign's voice, as it filled her Ready Room. "Janeway
here," she replied.
"Captain, an unidentified vessel is approaching of the
Starboard bow." he said.
"Acknowledged Ensign, I'm on my way. Janeway out."
Kathryn sighed, and got up off the floor. She still had the rose
in her hands, as she made her way to the table, she placed the
chamber on the table top, and gently traced the glass surface.
"I'll be back." she whispered quietly, and headed for
the door.
The last thing her blue eyes registered, as the first volley of
alien weaponry struck her ship, was of the rose, as it teetered
on the table's edge, before crashing to the floor beneath.
***
"...Captain Janeway, let me say again, what a pleasure it is
to have you as guests on Mecha Prime. I hope you find all that
you are seeking, and I remind you, that your crew is welcome any
time. " The alien man said over the view screen.
"Thank you chancellor. We appreciate your hospitality. I'll
relay the message to my crew, I'm sure they would enjoy some
shore leave on your planet. I will contact you shortly. Janeway
out."
Captain Janeway turned to face her bridge crew, absently running
a hand through her hair. "Commander, please start preparing
shore leave rotations for the crew, and make sure B'Elanna gets
her team together. She'll be leaving for the surface as soon as
she's ready." she said, her eyes not quite meeting those of
her first officer.
"Aye Captain." Chakotay replied, gazing at his padd.
Captain Janeway nodded, and turned toward her ready room door,
"I'll be in my ready room. You have the bridge." she
said, and walked across the floor.
***
As the doors closed behind her, Kathryn let out a sigh, and
relaxed her shoulders. It was becoming increasingly difficult to
keep up her command facade in his presence. What she wouldn't
give to have a full night's sleep in which he didn't invade her
dreams.
She sighed again, and walked over to her desk, as her eyes roamed
the interior of her Ready Room. They fell unconsciously to the
table that once held her most prized possession, and then to the
floor, where it should be. But the floor was clean. *maintenance
must have been by* she thought to herself.
She shook her head, as she fought back the almost uncontrollable
urge to cry. Everything was gone now. Any evidence of their
previous relationship was shattered with that peach flower, when
it fell to the floor. The past was lost forever, only the lonely
future loomed ahead.
Kathryn sank back into her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose
at the already present headache. Outside her window, Mecha Prime
could be seen, as Voyager circled in orbit.
They had arrived here only tow hours ago, crippled from the
recent attack. Upon their arrival, Captain Janeway had learned
that Voyager had strayed into the middle of an ongoing war
between the Tauri and the Mestra. The Tauri had mistaken Voyager
for a new form of Mestra technology, and had fired, inflicting
damage on the unsuspecting vessel.
And now, here they were, orbiting around the planet, waiting for
repairs to be completed, before continuing on their way. Kathryn
looked over at the table again, and sighed loudly, closing her
eyes. "I need to do something." she said to herself.
She got out of her chair, and walked to the bridge.
She surveyed her crew briefly, as they carried out her orders,
and their duties. "Commander." she said, "I'm
going down to the surface."
Chakotay gazed up at her over the rim of his padd, and Tuvok
looked up from his work. "Captain, do you think that's a
wise decision?" Chakotay asked, placing the padd on his
knee.
"I agree with the Commander, Captain. It would not be
logical for you to travel to the surface alone." Tuvok
added.
"Commander, I'll be fine. I'm just going for a walk, I'll
only be gone an hour at the most." Captain Janeway said,
staring at her first officer.
"Please, at least let me arrange for a security team to
accompany you?" asked Chakotay.
"No, I want to go alone." she said, shaking her head.
"Captain..."
"No Commander, I just need to get off the ship. I'll be
fine. You have the bridge" she said, and started toward the
turbolift.
Chakotay sighed, and looked up at Tuvok, who only raised his
eyebrow." "Aye Captain." he replied, and turned
his attention back to his work.
***
Kathryn walked down the path slowly, watching
the people as they hurried every which way. She hugged her
sweater tightly around her arms, and looked up at the sky. It was
just beginning to get dark, and she watched. As the stars of this
galaxy slowly became visible in the night's sky.
She turned her attention back to the ground, and started walking
again, following the path, but her mind was light years away.
She wasn't sure how long she had been walking, but when she
looked up next time, she was alone. In front of her, an old metal
entrance way stood tall, covered in vines, and years of dark red
flowers.
She walked over to the gate, and reached out with her hand,
bringing the flower within reach of her nose. She was assaulted
by the most beautiful fragrance; it surrounded her, invading all
of her senses.
She smiled brightly, the first real smile in weeks, and peered in
through the gate. *It looks like a garden of some sort*, she
thought, as her eyes roamed around. Flowers and bushes of all
sorts and colors, sprouted from the ground.
Everything was arranged, so that it formed a circle, with an
opening in the center. The form was complete, save for the path
leading from the gate to the center. "This is
beautiful" she whispered to herself, her eyes taking in the
sight before her, in awe.
She stepped through the archway, and walked to the center of the
garden. It was even more amazing from the inside. Looking around,
she wondered briefly why she was the only one there. A place as
beautiful as this should be filled with people, she thought. She
stopped suddenly as she felt come up someone behind her.
She turned quickly, to face the newcomer, but as her eyes focused
in the pale light, Kathryn saw that she was alone. She turned
slowly, in a complete circle, searching the garden. "Is
anyone there?" she asked. The only answer was the echo of
her own voice.
She stopped and looked up at the sky; she felt it again, as
subtle as a soft breeze, as it passed through her body, a
presence she felt in her mind, down to her very soul. It was an
odd sensation; she could feel herself try to move, but nothing
happened. She knew she wanted to leave, but no matter how hard
she tried, something more powerful was keeping her here.
In her mind, she tried to order her arm up to her comm badge, but
it was as if her entire body had revolted, and now refused to do
anything her mind commanded. Her heart was beating faster then
she thought possible, and her breath came in short gasps.
The, as quickly as it came, it was over. She felt herself begin
to relax, as a quiet calmness fell over her. She felt instantly
at peace. Kathryn looked around the garden, and was amazed at
what she saw. Swirls of light and energy all around her, coming
toward her, yet she wasn't afraid, The last thing she remembered,
before closing her eyes, was that she would have one hell of a
story to tell when she got back.
***
Chakotay paced the length of the Ready Room. He was worried about her, and he wouldn't stop
worrying until she was safely back on board. It
was irresponsible of her to go down alone, and yet, he felt
responsible for her safely, and chastised himself for not
assigning a security detail to follow her.
He stopped pacing, and looked around the room. Not long ago, he
had walked into this room, in hope of inviting his Captain, his
best friend to a crew gathering, only to leave that same day,
more angry and hurt then he had ever been.
*Stop it Chakotay* he told himself, *If all she wants is a
professional relationship, it won't do any good to dwell on the
past*.
He had been telling that to himself a lot lately, but no matter
how many times he told himself it was over, one fact remained, as
strong as ever. He still loved her.
"Tuvok to Commander Chakotay"
He spun around, half expecting to find the Vulcan standing behind
him. "Chakotay here," he replied.
"Commander, I thought you should know that Captain Janeway
has been down on the surface fro one hour and 32 minutes."
The Vulcan security chief said.
Chakotay grinned in spite of himself. He had visions of Tuvok
counting down every second, while the Captain was off an some
excursion, completely losing track of time. *But I'm usually with
her* he thought, and sobered quickly.
"Acknowledged Tuvok, I'll contact her. Chakotay out."
he said, and tapped his communicator. "Chakotay to Captain
Janeway," he waited. "Chakotay to Captain Janeway,
please respond." he said, but still no response.
He was beginning to get worried, "Kathryn, this is Chakotay,
can you hear me?" he asked, as he walked to the ready Room
doors.
As they opened in front of him, he stepped on to the bridge.
"The captain isn't responding to my hails, Harry, can you
get a fix on her position?" he asked, walking over to the
operations station.
The young ensign caught the worried look in his commanding
officer's eyes, and set to work. "Commander, it looks as
though she's in some kind of enclosure, located roughly a mile
from the initial transport site." he said, glancing up at
the Commander.
"Can you get a lock on her?" Chakotay asked, as he
watched Harry bent over his station.
"No sir. There is some kind of electrical energy surrounding
her position, and it's interfering with the he
transporters." he replied, discouraged.
Chakotay glanced around the bridge, and caught the eyes of Tom
Paris, "Ensign, I want you to get us as close to her
position as you can, Tom, you're with me." he said
"Aye sir, I'm transmitting the coordinates now. I can get
you to the entrance of the enclosure." Ensign Kim responded.
"Good, Tuvok, you have the bridge." Chakotay said, as
he and Tom stepped in to the waiting lift
***
Chakotay and Tom materialized in front of the open gate. Tom took
out his tricorder and scanned the area around the entrance.
"I can't get a clear reading past the gate. The energy
levels are of the scale in there." Tom said, shaking his
head.
Chakotay nodded, walked to the entrance, and looked in.
"Kathryn" he cried, and ran in, Tom close on his heels.
When Tom reached her side, he knelt down and felt for a pulse.
"She's alive, but we need to get her out of here." he
said, as he watched Chakotay brush the hair from her face.
Chakotay placed his arms under her small form, lifted her from
the ground, and made his way out of the gardens.
When they were safely outside, Tom reached for his comm badge,
"3 to beam directly to sickbay."
He turned to face his commanding officers, as they shimmered out
of existence.
***
Chakotay stepped off the 'lift and on to the Bridge. The
Doctor had all but kicked him out of Sickbay, ensuring him that
he would be contacted if there was any change, but for now,
Kathryn lay in a coma, and no one knew why.
"Tuvok, hail the Chancellor." he said, as he walked
down to the command area.
"Channel open sir." Tuvok replied.
In a matter of moments, the view screen was filled with the
chancellor's blue-green face, his white hair was slightly
ruffled, as though he'd been woken from sleep.
"Ah, Commander Chakotay, how may I help you?" the man
asked.
Chakotay stepped forward slightly, "Chancellor, I am sorry
to bother you at this late hour, but we need your assistance.
Captain Janeway is ill. She was visiting your planet, and when we
couldn't contact her, we found she was unconscious in a garden,
not far from where she transported." he said.
The Chancellor's eyes widened, "A garden you say?" .
Chakotay nodded, and indicated to Harry to send the coordinates.
"Yes, I'm sending you the coordinates now." he said.
The chancellor looked at his screen, and muttered something in
his native tongue that could not be translated. Shaking his head,
he raised his eyes to Chakotay. "I am sorry Commander. There
is nothing I or anyone can do to help. I'm afraid that your
Captain has fallen victim to the dratorna-fiern." he said
softly.
Chakotay shook his head, "dratorna-fiern? Chancellor, I'm
afraid I don't understand." he said.
"The dratorna-fiern, the sleeping forest Commander." he
paused, and took a breath. "The sleeping forest has claimed
many lives, and unfortunately, your Captain will not be the last.
We don't fully understand the effects of the forest commander,
but we do know that those who sleep, will never wake again."
Chakotay's mind was racing. Never wake again. "Chancellor, I
can't accept this. There has to be some way to wake her
up..." he started.
"Commander, I am truly sorry, Captain Janeway was a
remarkable woman, and she will be missed dearly. I know how hard
it is to lose a loved one, but there is nothing I can do. My only
advice is to say your goodbyes, and let her go. My thoughts are
with you Commander." With that, the view screen went blank.
Chakotay could only stare at the screen. There had to be a way to
help Kathryn, and he was going to find it. That was a promise. He
would never break his promise.
He turned to face the senior staff, "Harry, I want you and
B'Elanna to start going over those energy signatures. Tuvok, I
want you and Seven looking around down there," he said,
gesturing to the planet. "Make sure whatever happened to the
Captain was a natural occurrence. I want everyone back here by
twenty one hundred hours." he said, and headed for the turbo
lift.
***
Chakotay stepped in to sickbay, and his eyes immediately began to
adjust to the diminished light. He scanned the room, before his
eyes fell to the small figure on one of the biobeds on the
opposite side of the room. He walked over to her, and lifted her
limp hand to his.
"Commander." the Doctor called quietly from behind him.
Chakotay turned his head in the direction of the voice, and
spoke, "Any change Doctor?" he asked quietly.
"Sorry Commander, there has been no change. She's breathing
on her own, and her brain waves are strong. It's as if she's
sleeping, only I can't wake her." The Doctor said, and
picked up his tricorder. "Talk to her Commander. It may help
her if she hears your voice. I'll be in my office if you need
anything." he said, and moved off, giving them privacy.
Chakotay sat down in the chair beside her bed, as he caressed her
hand in his, gently moving his thumb across her knuckles. He sat
there and looked at her. She was so beautiful and peaceful; he
felt his heart swell with sadness, as he brushed her hair from
her eyes.
He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Kathryn, if you
can hear me, I need you to come back to me. I know that things
haven't been going very well between us lately, but..." he
paused, and closed his eyes, "Kathryn people say you don't
know what you've got, until it's taken away from you. I've almost
lost you too many times." he continued, his voice thick with
emotion.
Chakotay took one last look at her face, before laying his head
down on her shoulder. "You can't leave me Kathryn." he
whispered.
***
He was walking down the hall, his arms outstretched on either
side, guiding him in the dark.
*You must go to her*
'Why do I follow you?' he asked.
*You must go to her. Set her free.*
He tried to focus his eyes, but only shadows prevailed.
'How much further?' he asked.
*Not long, then you will set her free.*
With his hands, he felt the rough edges of the wall, give way to
smooth stone. With his eyes, he saw light.
'What do I do?' he asked.
*You must set her free.*
He felt its presence, as it guided him to the light. He reached
out, and his fingertips brushed against the smooth blade; his
hands gripped at the handle, and he pulled. The sword fell from
the light, and he felt its weight on his arms.
*Go to her now*
'Where? I can't see.' he said.
*Do not look with your eyes. Follow your heart. You will find
her.*
He looked ahead, using his heart as his guide, and he found her.
She was in front of him, lying on the table, her eyes were open,
looking at him.
*You've found her, now set her free.*
'How do I set her free?' he asked.
He felt it, as it guided the blade up over his head. He tried to
fight it, but he was powerless against its strength.
'No, please don't. I can't.' he cried.
*You must, it's the only way.*
The blade fell. He tried to stop it, but it was too strong. It
fell to her chest, as he plunged it in to her, and she screamed
in terror.
*No, no, nooo.....*
***
"Commander. Commander Chakotay, wake up. We have a staff
meeting in 15 minutes." The Doctor said.
Chakotay lifted his head slowly from her shoulder, and opened his
eyes. "Doctor?" he replied groggily.
"Well I'm glad that you were able to get some sleep,
Commander, but you called a meeting for twenty one hundred
hours." The Doctor said, moving to the other side of the
bed.
"Any change?" he asked, standing up.
The Doctor frowned at the monitors above his patient's head.
"No change in her condition, but I've discovered some new
information that could be of some importance; however, I will
discuss that at the meeting." he said. The Doctor extended
his arm, motioning to the door. "Shall we?" he asked,
and he and Chakotay started out of sickbay.
***
"...in conclusion, I have found nothing that would implicate
the Chancellor, or any other member of Parliament in the
incident." Tuvok finished.
Chakotay nodded. "Harry, B'Elanna?" he asked, looking
across the table.
Harry looked at the chief engineer before beginning. "We've
spent the past few hours studying the energy signature in the
garden, and we've made some amazing discoveries." he began.
"The energy displaced in the garden is actually neural
energy Commander. We weren't sure at the beginning, but we
contacted the Doctor, and he came to the same conclusion as
B'Elanna and I. The energy in that garden belongs to something
living. Commander, it's a life form." Ensign Kim explained.
Chakotay stared at them, his eyes wide. "A life form?"
he asked.
"Yes sir." B'Elanna answered, "Doctor?" she
said, turning to face the hologram.
"After completing a series of scans on Captain Janeway, I
have discovered that some of the same neural energy from the
planet, is now inside of the Captain's body. It has essentially
taken over her brain and body functions, although I do believe
that 'she' is still in there, but for how much longer, I don't
know." he said, eyeing the Commander.
"Is it anything like the Alien's Matrix Doc?" Tom
asked.
"No. When Captain Janeway was inside the matrix, the alien
was controlling; in a sense playing mind games, however; this
time I believe it's the other way around." he began. "I
think that this life form is trying to leave." he finished.
"How can you tell Doctor?. She's unconscious, and she can't
wake up on her own." Neelix asked.
"Since the Captain arrived in sickbay, her condition has
remained unchanged. She hasn't gotten any better, but she hasn't
gotten any worse either. It would be safe to assume that if its
intentions were to harm her, her condition would have
deteriorated." he explained.
Chakotay sat for a moment, staring at the senior staff, before
speaking. "Okay, assuming that our theories are correct, we
need a way to...to 'flush' the life form out of her system.
Concentrate your efforts on that, we don't know how much time we
have left. Dismissed." Chakotay said, looking around, as the
others started to leave the room.
When he was alone, he sighed heavily, and leaned back in his
chair, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he was back
in the cave.
*You've found her, now set her free.*
'How do I set her free?' he asked.
He felt it, as it guided the blade up over his head. He tried to
fight it, but he was powerless against its strength.
'No, please don't. I can't.' he cried.
*You must, it's the only way.*
The blade fell. He tried to stop it, but it was too strong. It
fell to her chest, as he plunged it in to her, and she screamed
in terror.
*No, no, nooo.....*
He snapped his eyes open, and sat up straight in his chair. It
was beginning to make sense to him now.
He thought it was a dream; a vision, but he was wrong. The
presence he felt guide him through the hall was the life form, or
at least one of them. It didn't want him to hurt Kathryn, he
understood that now, it was only trying to protect one of its
own.
'You have to set her free...'
He had the power to help Kathryn; to help it.
Chakotay drummed his fingers along the table. "What does
that mean?" he asked himself out loud. Then it came to him.
"The Garden!" he almost yelled, as he jumped up from
the chair, and ran to sickbay.
***
When he arrived in sickbay, The Doctor was scanning his patient.
"Doctor, I need to take her back to the Garden"
Chakotay said, as he rushed to her side.
"But Commander, I can't..." he started.
"Doctor, I can't explain. We have very little time left, you
said so yourself. Please, trust me." he said, as he gathered
Kathryn in his arms. "Chakotay to Tuvok."
"Tuvok here."
"I'm taking Kathryn back to the Garden. I'll explain when we
get back." he said.
For a moment, there was no response, and he was ready to close
the link, but then Tuvok replied. "Understood Commander.
Tuvok out." he said.
Chakotay breathed a small sigh of relief, before turning to the
Doctor. "Doctor, I need to you initialize a site to site
transport, to the coordinates where Tom and I last beamed
down." Chakotay said, moving away from the bed.
"Acknowledged Commander. Initializing transport. Good
Luck."
***
Chakotay materialized with his precious cargo, just outside the
entrance to the Garden. "It's going to be alright Kathryn,
I'll bring you back. I promise." he whispered in her ear, as
he stepped through the gate.
He started down the path, and stopped when he arrived in the
circle, where he gently placed her on the ground. Now it was time
to wait.
He knelt down beside her, and gently lifted her head in his lap.
Stroking her cheek, he turned his head, and gazed at his
surroundings. If only he had been down here with her, he could
have done something, anything to prevent this. But he let her go,
and how, she was laying, helpless in is arms, waiting. For what?
Chakotay lifted his head suddenly, in the direction of the sky.
He had felt something, its presence above him.
*We were never going to hurt her.*
It was a voice, not heard through his ears, but more of a subtle
thought in his mind. He started searching with his eyes, but soon
realized that he would not find what he was looking for.
"Can you help her?" he asked, almost yelling to be
heard over the wind.
*You have given us a second chance. Everything will be alright
now.*
Chakotay was about to ask what it meant, but he looked down
instead, and his eyes grew wide at the sight before him.
Light. Light and energy, emanating from around her body, rising
up from her very soul, and passing him on the way. The being
stopped, and hovered just above his head, before moving to join
the other one.
Chakotay watched in fascination, as the two beings merged with
one another. He felt their voice once more before they
disappeared
A quiet moan made him turn his attention back to the ground.
Kathryn opened her eyes, and slowly raised her hand, seeking his.
Chakotay moved back to her, lacing his fingers with hers, and
brushed the hair from her eyes. "Welcome back." he
whispered.
She smiled slowly, and squeezed his hand, "Chakotay, I want
to go home." she said quietly.
He smiled fully, his dimples exploding. "Alright Kathryn,
I'll take you home." He raised his free and to his chest,
and tapped his communicator. "Chakotay to Voyager, two to
beam up."
Fine
The Sword and the Rose~Epilogue
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